Finale (End) Sixty thousand light-years away in deep space, within the Ursa Major and Ursa Minor systems. The Pilot Project had been the first to discover these neighboring star systems, named for their resemblance to a mother bear and her cub.
The Alpha Fortress and the G1 and G2 Fortresses hovered silently, like immovable mountain peaks. These systems had not yet developed space-faring technology and were still in their feudal eras. The arrival of the Gamma Empire was an overwhelming force. The time the fortresses spent traveling and dealing with skirmishes along the way was far longer than the time it took to conquer these systems.
The expedition had been a long, grueling journey. Now, it was finally over.
At the royal palace on the largest planet of the Ursa Major system, the old royalty and nobility were allowed to remain temporarily. Once the Empire’s Executive Officer arrived, the palace would be converted into an official residence.
In the palace’s back garden, the Eve sub-server room had been established. Lin Changli retrieved a massive core from his spatial button and held it with both hands. Two magnetic probes generated a powerful suction, pulling the glowing blue core into its housing.
"Marshal Lin Changli, hello," Eve’s mechanical voice rang out. "Congratulations on completing the expedition." Eve paused, her cameras scanning the surroundings. "Forgive my phrasing, but my current environment seems insecure. Are you perhaps being a bit perfunctory with my installation?"
Lin Changli’s hair had grown much longer, tied simply behind his head. He chuckled. "Don't worry, Eve. There’s nothing on this planet that can threaten you. Their technology hasn't even mastered flight."
As Lin Changli walked through the palace, he saw the Queen clutching her two daughters. Her husband and sons had been killed resisting the Empire, leaving the two princesses as the sole legal heirs.
Lin Changli noticed a young princess with fiery red hair and pretty freckles hiding behind a pillar. Unlike her timid mother, she looked at him with sparky, stubborn eyes.
"Are you a bad man?" she asked clearly.
Lin Changli looked at her red hair, thinking of someone he hadn't seen in a long time. He knelt down and smiled. "Do you think I’m a bad man?" The little girl blinked, unable to answer. Lin Changli patted her head without explaining. He stood up as his adjutant approached.
"We are ready to return home," the adjutant reported.
…
Becoming the Executive Officer of Black Tower was more complex than Sang Ye had imagined. She spent massive amounts of time learning to handle official documents, military affairs, and personnel management.
Over the years, she and Lin Changli rarely found a common time to talk. When he was in deep space, there was no signal; when he was on a planet, they were separated by time zones. In contrast, news from Rong Cheng, who was deep into the Pilot Project, was more consistent. She regularly sent exotic specialties from the frontier back to Sang Ye and Du Yuan.
Du Yuan, however, was too busy to be lonely. She was completely occupied by Asu Ment’s twins. Asu was often away on duty, and Jiang Sili remained on Black Tower as the head of hospital security—the only S-rank Sentinel capable of the task.
The twins were mischievous daredevils. At age five, they had even managed to "steal" Jiang Sili’s personal warship for a joyride to a black market. As a result, the court sentenced the parents to 720 hours of community service for "negligence." Asu Ment chose to serve her "sentence" on Black Tower, farming and herding sheep alongside her family. To their surprise, having both parents around caused the twins' troublemaking to drop to zero.
During a rare long video call, Lin Changli asked Sang Ye her thoughts on children.
"I think we should let nature take its course," Sang Ye said, leaning into the camera. "But before we have a child, we need to finish our work. I don't want a baby to be born into a life where her parents are always too busy for her."
This "promise" gave Lin Changli a massive burst of motivation to finish the expedition. By the end of the fifth year, he finally received permission to return.
…
It was a beautiful day on the base. The Ment-Jiang family was returning home from the fields. The base no longer looked like the lifeless crater it once was. It was a lush forest filled with flowers, rabbits, and small cats.
Back at the West Building, Du Yuan was preparing dinner and making caramel pudding for the twins. Sang Ye had returned early and was taking a bath.
Suddenly, a sharp, loud crash of breaking glass echoed from the second floor. The power in the building cut out instantly.
"Sangsang!" Du Yuan shouted, dropping her tools. There was no reply.
On the second floor, Sang Ye calmly lit a lotus-shaped candle lamp. She threw on her robe and pushed open the bathroom door, her Parasol Tree mental branches spreading out dangerously across the floor. She was an A+ Guide now; no one broke into her home without a fight.
However, the moment her branches entered the room, they vibrated with excitement.
A man stood awkwardly amidst the shattered glass of the balcony. Behind him sat a massive, glowing beast with vibrant feathers—the Phoenix, looking quite proud of itself despite the property damage.
Lin Changli’s long hair drifted in the night breeze, his eyes reflecting the moonlight. It was exactly like the first time they met—him breaking her window and barging into her life.
In the warm glow of the candlelight, Sang Ye smiled brilliantly. "You're back."
Lin Changli stepped toward her. "I'm back."
—THE END—
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